In order to provide comfortable fitting gloves for different users who have a variety of hand shapes and sizes, manufactures generally provide consumers with a variety of different sized gloves. With respect to athletic gloves, such as those used in golf, proper glove fit is necessary for an additional reason. In such gloves, proper fit ensures that the glove does not interfere with the feel of a sports implement in the user's hands. Generally, gloves are produced in three size classifications, such as women's, men's, and cadet. Additionally, gloves within each size classification are usually produced in further size classifications, such as small, medium, large, extra-large, etc. Thus, retail locations often display a large number of different glove sizes and a customer often faces a time-consuming task of trying on multiple gloves in order to identify gloves with the best fit.
A number of hand measuring instruments have been attempted. None, however, provide a straightforward system that rapidly measures essential aspects of a customer's hand and accurately utilizes the measurements to suggest a glove size. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,997,920; 2,176,288; 2,605,548; and 4,173,074 disclose devices that measure palm width and the length of only the longest finger. Although such devices that measure the length of only a single finger and palm width may provide ease of use, these devices do not provide sufficient or accurate information to allow accurate prediction of the customer's glove size.
Other references, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 587,940 and 2,146,799 disclose devices that measure the girth of a hand and measure the length of the longer finger or fingers. For many individuals, however, these measurements also may not be sufficient to accurately predict the customer's glove size.
Several references, such as DT33495 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,924 disclose devices that measure the length of all of the fingers. Although these devices provide additional absolute information about the dimensions of a hand, such devices are generally too complicated and cumbersome to be used effectively in a retail setting.
Thus, a glove fitting device and method are needed that are easy for a customer to use in a retail setting, that allow pertinent aspects of their hands to be measured, and that more accurately predict their glove size.